Communism

Dwight David Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States and a member of the Republican Party. He was a hero of the Second World War and a very important figure in the liberation of Europe. He was also regarded as a great diplomat and, when he was elected, he became the first Republican president in 20 years. In... Read more

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the USSR and had a major impact on the path that Russia took at the end of the 20th century. He was a somewhat controversial figure, known in the West as the man who ended the Cold War while being one of the least popular 20th century leaders in Russia. This is understandable, as Gorbachev... Read more

Learn about the ideas of Karl Marx in just 50 minutes with this practical and concise book. Marx was a German economist and socialist revolutionary who had a significant influence on political thought, and particularly on Communism. His work includes a broad range of different political ideas, including the distribution of wealth and man's relationship with his environment, and gave rise to the... Read more

Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was known in particular for being the longest serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century, not to mention for being the first woman to have ever held the office. It did not take long for... Read more

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and one of the most controversial politicians of the 20th century. Known in particular for the Watergate scandal, the affair that ended his political career, Nixon was a fierce anti-communist and was responsible for the end of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. In just 50 minutes, you will find out about... Read more

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 and the leader of the USSR from 1924 to 1953. Known in particular for his rule of terror over the USSR, Stalin governed Russia with an iron fist, propelling the country into rapid industrialization through his infamous five-year plans, introducing forced labor camps known as... Read more

It is impossible to understand modern European history without first understanding the Cold War. Indeed, the tensions between the USA and the USSR, the two great powers to emerge from the Second World War, dominated the second half of the 20th century, resulted in a series of brutal proxy wars and brought the planet to the brink of nuclear war. The clash... Read more

The fall of the Berlin Wall put an end to almost 30 years of physical and ideological separation between the two halves of the German capital. Constructed at the height of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall symbolized the hostility between the capitalist powers in the West and the Communist powers in the East. Its fall saw people flood across... Read more

The Korean War was an internal war which led to a major confrontation between the Western Bloc and the Communist Bloc. The conflict lasted for three years and ended with no real winner, so the Korean Peninsula was divided into two states. In just 50 minutes, you will gain an understanding of why the war broke out and find out... Read more

The Vietnam War lasted for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975, and had deadly consequences for both the soldiers fighting in it and Vietnamese civilians. Following the partition of French Indochina by the Geneva Accords in 1954, tensions mounted between the two ideologically opposed halves of the country, resulting in a long conflict between the US-backed South Vietnam on the one hand,... Read more

Josip Broz Tito was the first President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, holding the role from 1953 to his death in 1980. After distinguishing himself in the resistance during the Second World War, he played a crucial role in shaping the new federal state and went on to defy Stalin, calling instead for a “third way” between the Eastern... Read more

Vladimir Lenin was a Russian communist revolutionary and politician whose actions shaped the fate of Russia. He toppled the centuries-old tsarist regime to lead the proletariat to victory during the Russian Revolution, becoming a legendary figure for the people of Russia in the process. However, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, as Lenin became surrounded by a cult of personality... Read more